US Customs issued CSMS message 17-000783 last week as a reminder to the importers, exporters and trade that the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) will become effective on January 1st, 2018. This program requires new data elements to be transmitted with the entries in order to obtain release. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) will adopt an “informed compliance†approach to enforcement to allow the flow of goods to continue. Though some entries may be released without all the required data elements, those entries are expected to be corrected as soon as possible. Incomplete filings that are not corrected in a ‘timely manner’ will be targeted for a full chain of custody audit.